The designers of a diesel-electric locomotive that Vossloh Locomotives debuted in 2007 reduced the chassis weight by 25% by using high-strength steels. The result is a locomotive that the company says provides better transport economics, more evenly distributed axle loads with lower wear of the rails, and better protection for the driver, due to improved deformation properties in the event of a crash.

The trend in the marketplace for molded silicone rubber parts clearly favors the increased use of injectable liquid silicone rubber (LSR) due to its ease of processability, design versatility, excellent quality, and lower system costs. A new class of highly fluorinated LSRs provides added fuel, oil, and solvent resistance for the most demanding mobility applications.

Composites have replaced metals in a wide range of applications, realizing considerable weight savings as well as associated cost and performance improvements. One factor that can limit the use of composites is their thermal or electrical conductivity properties. In particular, composites based on unidirectional tapes or 2-D laminates are often not suitable in areas where heat is generated.

With a surface composed of tightly packed nanostructures that resemble tiny nails, thus the term “nanonails,” University of Wisconsin–Madison engineers and their colleagues from Bell Laboratories have created a material that can repel almost any liquid. But with a jolt of electricity, the liquid on the surface slips past the heads of the nanonails and spreads out between their shanks, wetting the surface completely.

KMT Robotic Solutions says its new RoboTrim RT-1002 robotic routing system provides reduced cycle times for trimming thermoformed, injection molded, and rotationally molded parts. Using TrimPro and CamPro CADCAM software, users can create programs offline, build virtual work cells, and simulate and optimize the cycle times of existing cells without building a prototype or bringing the system out of the production line.

Yet another application is poised to switch from metal to plastic. Mann+Hummel unveiled a plastic oilpan at April’s SAE World Congress, saying the technology is already designed into a model year 2009 North American vehicle.

Work by the Innovatial project, which is supported by the European Commission through the Sixth Framework Program for Research and Development, involves 24 high-profile European partners in the automotive and aerospace sectors focused on developing innovative processes and materials for components such as diesel injection.

Nanostellar uses Rational Catalyst Design, which combines computational nanoscience and advanced synthetic chemistry, to overcome the limitations of materials currently being used in emissions-control technologies. The company determined that the addition of gold to the platinum/palladium alloy used in more recent diesel catalytic converters is beneficial in terms of cost and performance.

Key to the ultimate success of plug-in hybrids, as well as other hybrids and all-electric vehicles, is the battery technology, with lithium-ion batteries garnering much attention from automakers and suppliers, including lesser-known companies working with nanomaterials to enhance performance. One such company is Altair Nanotechnologies, which has developed a nano-lithium titanate (nLTO) spinel material for batteries.

For the past 30 years, aluminum content per vehicle has grown every year. "I think [in the future] we'll see increased aluminum content in structural chassis parts -- everything from engine cradles to A-pillars, B-pillars, full spaceframes, etc.," said Alcoa's Kevin Kramer. A technology the company is confident will make further inroads is its proprietary Alcoa Vacuum Die Casting.

The first modern automotive accessory drive belt to operate without a tensioning device is making its debut on the 5.3-L V8 in the 2008 Hummer H3. The ribbed belt is sufficiently “stretchy” to be installed without permanent deformation, yet can maintain the required tension for as long as a conventional belt with a tensioner, while transferring the power required to operate the compressor.

Packaging heat-sensitive components in an underhood environment can be a challenge for design engineers. Specialist coating company Zircotec has just conducted what it terms “independent testing by one of the U.K.’s leading test and development centers” to confirm that the use of advanced flame-sprayed ceramic coatings can reduce heat transfer by up to 26.7%.

AlSiC (aluminum silicon carbide) is a metal matrix composite from CPS that is suited for base plates material for insulated gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) used in high-power traction, power control, hybrid-electric vehicle power systems, and fly-by-wire applications.

The UltraView roof for the new Cadillac CTS (pictured), designed by Cadillac and Webasto Roof Systems, is one of the largest of its kind in a sedan—almost 70% of the car’s roof is glass that allows in natural sunlight for both front- and rear-seat passengers.

The planet wheels in Voith Turbo’s new DIWA.5 automatic gearboxes rotate against DuPont Vespel thrust washers separating them from the planet-wheel carrier. Developed for public transit buses by Voith Turbo, of Heidenheim, Germany, the thrust washers made of DuPont Vespel SP21 polyimide provide a low-abrasion function while working in an environment with high relative rotating speeds of more than 20,000 rpm between the components.

Kolbenschmidt Pierburg, a supplier of engine components and systems, is pumping up its pump business, focusing on high-growth world markets, and getting the lead out of some of its products to meet upcoming European and U.S. lead-free mandates.

A muffler operates in a high-temperature environment bathed in water and acids, which underscores why passenger vehicles are fitted with metal—not plastic—exhaust systems. By the end of the decade, though, vehicles could be adorned with a plastic exhaust system.

Volvo places great emphasis on manufacturing quality, safe, comfortable, and environmentally friendly cars. To this end, the company has placed added emphasis and research into the manufacturing of its seats.

The Society of Plastics Engineers’ 37th annual Automotive Innovation Awards are the Oscars of the automotive plastics business. The competition for 2007 was “especially intense,” noted program chair Brian Gosser, Automotive Business Manager for Samsung Chemical USA. As in years past, AEI was honored to participate on the Blue-Ribbon judging panel.

Chrysler’s traditional approach to vehicle development has taken a detour as engineers recently started using bio-mimetic topology optimization and an advanced engineering process as a means of designing safer, lighter automobiles. The new process helps to identify which body-in-white zones have the highest strain as well as prime locations for the various critical load paths on the vehicle.

While traditional paint still dominates automotive-exterior coatings, paint film is steadily replacing it on those surfaces that must deliver high wear resistance. Made by Soliant and competitors including Avery-Denison, Decoma, and Mayco-Schulman, paint film is an ultra-thin painted elastic film that is bonded to plastic parts (in a variety of substrate types) during their molding.

Dürr has translated the common necessities of final assembly into a modular approach. Called FAStplant, it is based on standardized prefabricated and pretested modules. The company says that the typical range of productivity starts from 15 cars per hour and extends up to more than 40.

To operate efficiently, diesel particulate filters (DPFs) need to reach their high operating temperatures quickly if they are to meet legislative requirements for reduced emissions levels. Zircotec thermal coating has been developed to reduce heat loss in diesel exhaust systems, helping DPFs to reach their optimum operating temperature faster.